Skin Care On A Budget

Read this article about achieving and maintaining a glowing, happy, healthy face for a fraction of the cost!

Skin Care on a Budget: DIY

-Exfoliate-

My sister Sarah, a certified and practicing esthetician, recommends a weekly or twice weekly exfoliation for the face (for dry skin) and usually three or four times a week if you have tough or oily skin.

Directions for all scrub recipes that follow: Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Gently massage face for 30 seconds – 1 minute. Rinse with warm water first then a few splashes of cold. Pat dry with a clean towel. Apply a gentle freshener and moisturizer.

Sugar Citrus Scrub

2 Tbsp. Sugar

2 Tbsp. Epsom salt

1 tsp. fresh citrus juice (lemon, orange, lime etc..)

½ tsp. citrus rind

1 tsp. coconut oil

1 tsp. honey.

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Coffee Oat Scrub

¼ cup ground oats (not instant oats)

2 Tbsp. Sugar

2 Tbsp. Coffee Grounds

2 Tbsp. honey

1 ½ tsp. Olive oil

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Coconut Kiwi Scrub

1 tsp. coconut oil

2 tsp. sugar

½ kiwi, smashed thoroughly

–Masks-

Mask your face with a hydrating/moisturizing mask two or three times a week.

Directions for all mask recipe that follow: Combine all ingredients together in a bowl. Apply mask to face after washing it. Let set for 15-30 minutes. Rinse with warm water, then a few splashes of cold water. Apply a gentle toner and moisturizer.

Moisturizing Yogurt Mask

2 tsp. plain yogurt

1 tsp. ground oats (not instant oats)

1 tsp. honey

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 Moisturizing Avocado Mask

½ ripe avocado, pitted and smashed

1 small egg yolk

1 Tbsp. honey

1 Tbsp. coconut oil or olive oil

½ tsp. plain yogurt

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Hydrating Banana Mask

1 tsp. olive oil

½ ripe banana

1 egg yolk

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Hydrating Red Wine Mask

2 Tbsp. Red Wine

2 Tbsp. plain yogurt

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Deep Cleaning Egg White Mask*

1 egg white, slightly whipped

4 or 5 paper tissues (not tissue paper), cut into 2” strips

Directions for Deep Cleaning Egg White Mask*: After having washed your face, brush egg wash on face with a clean kitchen basting brush. Lay tissue strips flat on skin until paper is totally absorbed. Brush face a second time, and lay more strips of tissue on your face. Let completely dry (30-45 minutes) then peel off. Rinse with warm water, then a few splashes of cold water. Apply a gentle toner and moisturizer.

–Toner-

“When you’re looking for a toner for sensitive skin, you do not want a stringent. You really want to look for a freshener. There are three different grades of skin toners, and they all have different alcohol contents. Freshener is the mildest, toner is the middle and a stringent is the last one and has highest alcohol content (such as sea breeze). Luckily, freshener/toner is another thing you can make yourself!”

In a clean, chemical free spray bottle, combine:

1 part distilled water

1 part witch hazel

A few drops of essential oil-

– “Stay away from oils like tea tree, eucalyptus and peppermint because those will burn your face. You’d want to stick to lavender, lemon balm, orange blossom. Especially if you’re a teenager and you’re dealing with break outs, citrus essential oils are very handy in that area. Not applied directly on the skin! You need to dilute in either a freshener, toner, or in coconut or jojoba oil. You shouldn’t put essential oils directly on your skin.”

An additional note from Sarah about using toners/fresheners:

“It is important to tone because that helps to restore the pH balance in your skin. It helps your skin neutralize itself a little better. Your skin has to re-normalize itself after each time you wash it because you’ve just washed all of the oil off, so it has to make more oil to put on there and applying a freshener of the appropriate strength is important because it will return your skin to the correct pH level so it can get back to normal a little bit faster after you wash it. And, don’t forget your moisturizer, of course!”

-Moisturizer-

Sarah puts an extra emphasis on moisturization: “In my professional opinion, people with dry skin often overlook moisturizing their skin after they wash their face. Even if you have oily skin you should moisturize your face! When you’re looking for a moisturizer for a dry skin you want to look for more of a moisturizing moisturizer as oppose to simply ahydrating moisturizer. Hydrating moisturizers are more for people with oily skin because they don’t need any more oil, they just need more water. Another thing that everybody needs to do, especially if you have dry skin is make sure you drink enough water throughout the day.”

Moisturizer

-Coconut oil

-Pure olive oil

-Avocado oil

-a good, natural, unscented product

Apply any of these moisturizing oils to your face (and body) after you wash your face/body and anytime throughout the day when your skin feels dry.

Read here about my skin care routine! I’ve constructed my regimen to cater to my dry and sensitive skin.

What Sarah says about establishing a skin care routine:

“A lot of people make the mistake of cleansing their skin twice a day, and I know the cleanser bottles say to do that but usually, even if you have oily skin, you don’t need to do that. The most important time to cleanse your skin is at night time because you’ve been absorbing a bunch of pollutants from the air, you’ve been touching your face all day, you’ve got germs all over it, oils from cooking- it is definitely more important to wash your face at night. If you face just feels yucky in the morning, get a hot rag and press it to your face. Refresh it with the seam and then use a little moisturizer and you’re good to go. You don’t really need to cleanse it twice a day. That is really too much.”

Sarah’s Suggested Schedule for Taking Care of your Skin

Daily: A.M.- Refresh your face with a clean, warm washcloth in the morning. Follow with a moisturizer.

Daily: P.M.- Wash your face with s gentle cleanser. Rinse with warm water then with a few splashes of cold. Follow with the appropriate strength freshener or toner and moisturizer.

Two or three times a week: Exfoliate after you cleanse. Rinse with warm water then with a few splashes of cold. Follow with the appropriate strength freshener or toner and moisturizer.

Weekly: Mask after you cleanse and exfoliate. Rinse with warm water then with a few splashes of cold. Follow with the appropriate strength freshener or toner and moisturizer.